Through
strategic partnerships and a visionary curriculum, the Kellogg
School's top-ranked Executive MBA Program offers an integrated
global leadership experience

By
Rebecca Lindell

Welcome
to the global classroom.

It's
a Friday morning in Evanston, and students in the Kellogg
School's Executive MBA Program settle into their seats at
the James L. Allen Center. Half a world away, in Hong Kong,
Kellogg EMBA students engage in a late-night study group discussion.

In
Miami, Kellogg students from across Latin America are immersed
in a debate inspired by that morning's lecture. And in Israel
and Germany, students are sharing their thoughts over dinner
before returning to their evening classes.

Around
the world, Kellogg EMBA students are studying, forming teams,
negotiating and building their international business skills.
It is a learning environment without boundaries, as students
interact across cultures and time zones.

The
scenario bears little resemblance to the small group of mid-career
managers who constituted the school's
first EMBA class in 1976. But for all its sophistication,
it is the fulfillment of a vision set forth by Dean Emeritus
Donald
P. Jacobs when he conceived of the program more than three
decades ago.

Jacobs
foresaw a rich academic culture, one in which executives would
learn from the Kellogg faculty as well as their peers. The
give-and-take would allow the executives' knowledge to filter
into the classroom, and the faculty's discoveries to permeate
the business world.

As
the program evolved, it kept pace with changes in technology
and globalization. Through the efforts of professors, administrators
and students, the Kellogg
School EMBA program would come to reflect today's borderless
business world.

"What's
exciting is that we're seeing the realization of a long-term
vision," says Julie Cisek Jones, assistant dean
and director of the Executive MBA Program, which has repeatedly
been ranked No. 1 in surveys such as those conducted by BusinessWeek.
and U.S. News and World Report.

"Our
students are no longer based solely in North America. They're
doing coursework on several continents. They're interacting
with each other and taking those Kellogg skills and relationships
into the world."

Those
opportunities are the fruits of strategic partnerships Kellogg
has forged over the last decade as it established joint executive
MBA programs with schools in Germany,
Hong Kong, Israel
and Canada. This global campus
formally convenes each fall, when students in their second
year travel from partner schools to attend an international
Live-In Week in Evanston. There, they study cross-cultural
negotiations and strategic crisis management. "It's very
rigorous and highly interactive," Jones says. Students
may also pursue elective courses during a Live-In Week at
one of the Kellogg partner schools.

In
addition, EMBA students, whose average age is 37, can interact
during Global
Initiatives in Management courses that explore the business
environment of a selected country. International EMBA students
and alumni have helped ensure the success of those visits
by arranging corporate meetings and providing valuable cultural
insights.

These
opportunities let students build a global network of personal
and business relationships, as Stuart Abelson '05 can
attest.

Abelson,
director of corporate development for Amphenol Corp., attended
a Live-In Week at the Leon Recanati Graduate School of Management
at Israel's Tel Aviv University during his second year in
the EMBA program. Through that experience, he formed bonds
with students from Hong Kong, Israel and other Kellogg programs.

"It's
an intense experience and you share a lot, professionally
and personally," he says. "You develop relationships
that last a long time.

"I
didn't think you could make those kinds of lifelong friendships
after high school," he adds. "Some of these people
I talk to every week. I have a good group of Kellogg friends
that I'll stay in touch with forever."

That's
a key goal of the program, Jones says.

"We
try to think of all the students in our EMBA program as one
large group, as opposed to 16 different groups," she
says. "This is one community of faculty and students,
and they all have a great deal to learn from each other."

For
students based in the United States, Kellogg now offers several
options to obtain the EMBA degree, including three programs
on the Evanston campus: the Regional Program, which meets
once a week on alternating Fridays and Saturdays; and two
sections of the North American Program, designed for long-distance
students and those who travel frequently. The program meets
on alternating weekends; one section begins in September and
the other in January.

Bernadette
Birt, director of domestic executive MBA programs, says
Kellogg is unique in offering such a variety of choices, each
targeted to a specific customer segment.

"We
offer a lot of options for fitting an MBA education into your
life," Birt says. "It's important to find the one
that works for you, so that you can enjoy the program's full
benefits."

In
January, Kellogg created another avenue for degree-seeking
executives: the Kellogg-Miami Executive MBA Program, designed
to attract students throughout Latin America as well as those
in the southeastern United States.

For
all its growth, the foundations of the Kellogg EMBA program
remain constant. Professors continue to infuse classes with
intellectual rigor. Collaborative learning and innovation
remain guiding principles. And the faculty shares a deep respect
for the knowledge and experience these executives bring to
the classroom.

"In
each class, there's usually at least one student with significant
expertise in the subject at hand," Jones says. "During
class discussions it's not uncommon for a student to say,
'I was there when they did this. I was in the CEO's office
and here's what was going on in the background.' The faculty
is adept at incorporating that into the discussion and making
it all the richer."

Perhaps
the program's most abiding element is the James L. Allen Center.
Opened in 1979, Kellogg has enhanced the building over the
years to include amenities such as a 250-seat amphitheater,
wireless Internet connection and a small gym.

"Everything
is under one roof," she says. "Our meals are all
here; so are the study-group rooms and classrooms. The conversations
are organic and constant, and they start the minute the students
walk through the door."

The
staff, of course, interacts with students, too, continually
seeking their views on how to augment the program. The result
is an atmosphere of perpetual innovation.

During
the Miami program's opening celebration in January, for example,
Kellogg Dean Dipak
C. Jain told Jones he wanted to meet with her that Saturday
to begin planning EMBA's next undertaking.

"The
next project is always right around the corner," Jones
says. "That's as it should be. Our success depends on
staying ahead of everyone else."

In
fact, Jones is looking ahead to a number of new EMBA initiatives.
They include the development of "knowledge creation centers"
around the globe — bases from which faculty will conduct
the research and consulting that keep the Kellogg curriculum
fresh. The first of those will open in Frankfurt.

"Regardless
of an organization's size, the global economy affects everyone,"
Jones says. "Kellogg is committed to opening the global
classroom and creating new learning opportunities for our
students. It will be exciting to see what they do next, and
to see what we will do to raise the bar on the executive MBA
experience."